My nephew and his wife contacted me recently to ask my opinion on whether or not it was better to purchase an existing house or build. It was a great question and got me thinking about the best way to answer it. I asked them whether they had ever looked at houses, and if so, which one was more appealing to make an offer. They had seen a lot of houses, but none seemed to be in their price range. Although they liked one house they saw, they realized it had an 11-year-old roof and would require a new roof soon. They wanted to know how much a new roof would cost. I didn't know the exact size, pitch, or other details so I made a guess at $12,000 to $15,000 depending upon a few things that I would need to know. They hit the nail on its head with [...]

G. M. Filisko, an attorney and award-winning author, is a lawyer. She is a frequent contributor to publications such as Bankrate, REALTOR Magazine and American Bar Association Journal. Her specialties include real estate, personal finances, and legal topics. You should ensure that you walk away with all of the proceeds from the sale. You may feel like you are done when you close on your home and can move into your new place. But not so fast. It is easy to lose a few bucks here, and mistakes can creep into closing documents there. All of this adds up to a lot of lost profits. These seven tips will help you spot money-losing issues. 1. TAKE SERVICES OUTSIDE OF YOUR NAME Avoid any disputes with buyers following closing about fees or cable service that you have not discontinued. Get in touch with every utility or service provider to terminate or [...]

Once you have found a buyer, all that is required to close the deal is to avoid these five traps. Finding a buyer is only the first step in the home-selling process. Be careful in the coming weeks, as if you make any of these common selling mistakes, your deal might not close. First Mistake: Ignore contingencies Do what your contract calls for. You shouldn't make the sale conditional on repairs. Buyers won't notice if you do cheap fixes. Second Mistake: Don't bother fixing things that break A seller doesn't want buyers to notice that the home isn’t in the same state it was when they offered. Sellers must repair any damage to a house that is about to be bought. The furnace should be repaired by a qualified professional. If you fail to maintain your home, buyers will lose faith in your integrity and home's condition and may decide [...]